The theft of automobiles is one of the most serious property crimes in the United States today. The loss to the economy of such thefts is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Insurance premiums, already high, have skyrocketed as a result of such thefts. Recently, many devices have been developed to help prevent the theft of automobiles. Those devices may be generally classified as active or passive. An active device is one which disables a system in the car, normally required to drive the vehicle. Such active systems are known which disable steering columns, fuels systems, transmissions and drive train systems, as well as steering wheels themselves.
One such anti-theft device may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,406 which discloses an anti-theft device for an automobile comprising a stainless steel shield permanently fixed to the shift bowl of the steering column of an automobile. When assembled on a steering column, the shield moves with the shift bowl when the gear shift is moved. A lock assembly with a dead bolt is provided on the defender shield with the dead bolt mounted for radial movement with respect to the shield. When the car is in a parked position, the dead bolt enters the gate of the shift device at a position such that the gear lever cannot be moved out of the parked position.
Another such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,198 which discloses a vehicle anti-theft system having an auxiliary switch that is interposed in the ignition controlling the circuit between the main key switch and the ignition starting unit. The auxiliary switch is formed with a normally opened, single pole, single break context located behind and spaced from the outer surface of the vehicle wall and access to the contacts is through a single, small diameter entrance tube, which functions also to mount the switch behind the vehicle wall.
Other systems are in the nature of passive devices. These do not disable the vehicle. These include audio alarms which alert anyone within listening range that there has been an unauthorized tampering with the lock systems or otherwise unauthorized entry into the vehicle. However, the audio alarm systems are often easily disabled by the thief. In addition, such alarm systems are frequently ignored as they are often inadvertently activated, such as by innocent passers-by.
What is needed is a simple, convenient system, easily retrofitable to existing automobiles, which will be difficult to disable, and will visually alert the public to the unauthorized use of the vehicle.